How Pet Psychics Work

Some of Panskipp's work is controversial, but the idea that animals experience emotions seems to be moving into the mainstream. However, there is a difference between feeling an emotion and being able to think about or analyze that emotion. A puppy might be afraid of its overly rambunctious littermates, but it probably does not have the level of reasoning necessary to blame its adult skittishness on that experience. Even scientists like Panskipp, who promote the idea that animals have feelings, doubt that they have the intellectual capacity to think about their feelings.

Pet psychics and scientists also differ in their thoughts on animal consciousness, or potential for higher reasoning and self-awareness. Pet psychics also describe animals as having identities that are distinct from the animals around them. In other words, they are self-aware. As with human consciousness, animal consciousness is not entirely understood. Scientists do not entirely agree on whether animals are conscious or to what level they are self-aware. Some animals show signs of consciousness, such as recognizing themselves in the mirror or reacting to the death of other animals. But, scientists have not yet found proof that animals are as completely self-aware as pet psychics describe them to be.

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Psychic Contradictions

Many pet psychics portray animals as highly developed beings that have a better understanding of the universe than humans do. Sonya Fitzpatrick describes animals as more innocent and pure than humans and claims that they never intentionally hurt one another.

However, Fitzpatrick's anecdotes in "What the Animals Tell Me" sometimes contradict these assertions. For example, she tells the story of a turtle who asks for a fish friend. Later, the turtle eats the fish. When Fitzpatrick asks the turtle about it, he replies that he knew he wouldn't get a fish if he said he was going to eat it. In other words, the turtle lied to Fitzpatrick and deliberately ate a fish he had been given as a companion.

Pet psychics also disagree on how animals use information about their owners. Fitzpatrick claims that animals are gossips and that they share intimate and embarrassing information about their owners. On the other hand, Debbie McGillivray, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pet Psychic Communication," claims that animals are innocent and loyal. According to McGillivray, a pet would never embarrass its owner by revealing personal or sensitive information.